Cosatu fears congress turmoil

Dlamini says Numsa has set funds aside to ply workers with alcohol to disrupt meeting

DELEGATES attending the Congress of SA trade Unions’ (Cosatu) special national congress should demand the return of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA and former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi to the fold of the trade union federation, Numsa said yesterday.

“We request that every delegate in the special national congress boldly and freely demand that Numsa be returned and comrade Vavi reinstated in his position.

“Anything short of this will see the end of Cosatu,” Numsa deputy secretary Karl Cloete said at press briefing in Johannesburg.

The country’s biggest trade union federation is holding a special congress today and tomorrow, amid its deepest crisis since its formation in 1985.

Numsa, which was the biggest affiliate in terms of membership, was expelled last year for bringing the federation into disrepute.

This was followed by the expulsion of Vavi in March.

A subsequent court bid by Numsa to be reinstated into Cosatu and to be allowed to participate in the special congress failed recently.

At least nine Cosatu affiliates, that have aligned themselves with Numsa and Vavi, have vowed to argue Numsa’s case at the congress, although Cosatu had indicated that the “Vavi and Numsa” issue was not on the agenda for the congress.

Cloete said statements by some leaders of the tripartite alliance at the SA Communist Party (SACP) special congress that ended on Saturday, that the union planned to spend up to half a million rand on efforts to disrupt the upcoming meeting, were baseless.

Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini told SACP delegates on Thursday that Numsa was spending a lot of money on its campaign to be brought back into Cosatu, and that it had set aside R500 000 for the special congress.

Dlamini went on to add that the money will probably be spent on plying workers with alcohol and drugs so that they would disrupt the congress.

Cloete said: “We reject the bogus and baseless allegations made by Sidumo Dlamini, that Numsa has set aside funds intended to disrupt the conference.

“We view this allegation as part of a ploy to send false alarm bells and to influence delegates to rubber stamp the reactionary decision to expel more than 350 000 workers from the federation they helped found and develop.”

He said the congress would be a talk shop that would not address the real issues facing workers.

“A whole day of speeches by the alliance on the 13th, and very few hours will be left on the second day to talk about real issues that the congress was called for.”

The union’s acting president Andrew Chirwa said the outcome of the special congress had already been determined by Dlamini and other alliance leaders.

“It is not a congress of workers, but that of alliance leaders… it is an artificial exercise of what a workers’ conference should be,” said Chirwa. Once any Numsa or Vavi issue is raised by workers, they will be labelled as drunk and disregarded.

“But workers will be there nonetheless to make their voices heard,” Chirwa said. – ANA

EVERY DELEGATE MUST DEMAND THAT NUMSA BE RETURNED AND COMRADE VAVI BE REINSTATED